Hey Jerry, this is going to open up a lot of possibilities. It is everything Bob said and more.

Steve

One thing that has surprised me is the many different ways each performer is approaching their use of the LIghtning Box.

I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of folks at the Innovention Convention and Mindvention the last two weeks. Almost everybody has a different way to integrate the Lightning Box into their program.

The two major creative uses were what objects to use and the choreography leading to the ending. I absolutely love hearing of the new ideas. I'm not at liberty to divulge the ideas that have been shared with me but I hope some of these ideas and concepts will be shared.

Well, I'll share an idea and hope that others will, too:

This is an idea for using the Lightning Box with Cosmo Solano’s Q (the best index I know).

Lift the lid off the Lightning Box and explain that the inside is like the human imagination. It’s a mysterious and shadowy place . . . empty, yet full of possibilities.

Who knows what might appear there -- new ideas, art, inventions, music? The imagination is wide open. All we have to do is use it.

Replace the lid, and set the box on the table. Now have a spectator use his imagination in a sort of “invisible deck” presentation. Using an imaginary deck alone, the spectator eliminates cards until only one is left. Any random process will do – toss cards away, burn them, eat them, whatever – since there’s no equivoque.

At the conclusion, the spectator is holding a single imaginary card. Ask him to fold the card in half. Now he sees the red back in his mind's eye. He folds it once more, the other way.

Ask if he remembers the empty box of imagination, which has been sitting on the table in plain view the whole time?

“Please toss your imaginary card inside the box.” The spectator makes a throwing gesture. “Remember, anything you can imagine, you can make real.”

Lift the lid off the Lightning Box. A folded red card has appeared inside! “What card did you end up with in your imagination? The six of spades? Let’s see . . .”

Dump the card out of the box, and have the spectator unfold it. It’s the six of spades, the card he imagined. Ta-dah.

This presentation puts all the focus on the spectator, giving you ample misdirection and time for doing what you have to do with the Q.

I haven’t received my Lightning Box yet, but I’m thinking. I hope some of the ideas that Bob K. mentioned will be shared here.

Cheers,
Jerry

“Remember, anything you can imagine, you can make real.”

At this point, I'd be imagining a lump of gold or a naked woman rather than a stupid card.

Hey Bob, I will be going on a radio talk show this sunday the 24th, it will be broadcasting live @ http://www.fendersden.com between 6pm to 9pm. I will be using the lightning box in my set.

Polygonsmagic --

Ask Bob Kohler about the "naked woman bonus pack" for the Lightning Box

Cheers,
Jerry

Any Lightning Box owners out there? Or should we start a thread in Secret Sessions to discuss ideas and presentations?

Jerry

I think that would be more appropriate.

Okay, here we are: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......tart=0#1

Click to discuss ideas, presentations, handlings, and so on for the Lightning Box.

Thanks,
Jerry

Nice routine Jerry...
The Secret Session thread should get very interesting!

Thanks for showing me this at Mindvention Bob!!! Very very kind of you. Needless to say I loved it, ingenious and very cool are words that come to mind!

It was a real pleasure getting to hang out with you a little bit!!

All the best,

MJ

Hi Matt,
Mindvention was a blast and as usual a great intimate hang. The reaction to the LIghtning Box from the mentalist crowd was overwhelming. It was great to hear so many novel uses from many creative minds.

Your Haunted Deck's method was so far "out of the box" I'm not sure you're human. Great thinking!

Update

We sold out of the initial run of Lightning Boxes almost immediately. The parts for the second batch have finally arrived and are now being assembled.

I'd like to thank those who have been waiting for their patience. You order will be shipping asap!

The LIghtning Box is now back in stock!

I just got my Lightning Box. It's a fantastic item -- works perfectly, looks great. I'll post a review in a few days, after some test-driving with persons outside my own household.

Good video instruction, too. I bought the box primarily to use with Q, a great combination.

Cheers,
Jerry

I try yesterday for the first time! big big reaction

s.

belgium

I'm interested in buying either this box or the John Kennedy box for walk around magic where I'd like the signed card to end up in an impossible location. My need is specific - I only need to reveal red backed card - and I'd like the box to sit on a spectators hand until the reveal. Given that situation I sense that although this has a size (and good pocket fit) advabtage it wil not able to rest on the spectators naked palm. Do I have that right?

Thanks in advance for the help here.

I recently tried this "outside the house", it really does work. I was not sure how it would play because although plain looking, it is a "prop".
I have a little sticker on the top that says "Dog House" and at the beginning of the routine. I show 2 small doggy treats inside the box. I then do an ambitious card routine with a blank faced deck and the spectator drawing a dog on one of the cards. After the well trained dog “finds his way” back to the top of the deck a few times he disappears and where do you think he winds up.
It is such an easy prop to use that you can truly focus on your performance. I had a lot of “DL” experts burning me with suspicion during some of the AC phase but nobody saw me “get that card into the box” and nobody reached for the box after I put the treats back in the empty box at the end of the routine.

You could have a spectator hold it in a flat out stretched palm.
You would have to know your spectator, know that they would not fiddle, etc. I have not used a Kennedy box so don’t know how they compare. Having it in the spectators hand might violate the “too perfect” principal.

Xcath -That's a nice addition to David Regal's "doggie" presentation for the Ambitious Card. Your use of a blank-faced deck is a great idea.

I've had the Lightning Box for about a week now, using it with Cosmo Solano's Q i***x.

My presentation was shamelessly "adapted" from John Archer's version of Kolossal Killer ("Educating Archer" DVD). For this you need to narrow the spectator's choice, so you draw on a pad to comedically force the person to end up with "red" and "hearts." Then they choose the actual card.

The absurd humor masks the f***e of a suit very nicely and adds to the entertainment value. I also like this approach because it means I only need 1/4 of the Q in my pocket.

My Lightning Box works perfectly. It's so easy to operate that it takes all the pressure off the final moment. A platypus could do the required move with no problem.

The round black box is nondescript enough to attract little attention (which is good). It's just a box.

I'm also working on a presentation in which the box contains my lucky piece (an old silver dollar) and my lucky card. The spectator gets to touch my lucky piece, and amazingly this helps her guess my lucky card. Again, the Q is used.

I haven't even gotten around to putting other things (like a dummy bill) in the box. But I'm thinking of using it for a confabulation routine (the prediction would be in the box).

I recommend the Lightning Box highly.

Cheers,
Jerry

There are many "tools" in magic, including gimmicks. The wise magician picks the right tools for the particular job. Deciding to avoid gimmicks as a rule is foolish.

Dumping an object out of a container into your free hand is completely natural IF it's properly motivated.